Are your friends ruining your healthy lifestyle?

IF THEY CAN HAVE IT… So can I, right?

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As the owner of an online retailer of lingerie and swimwear, it’s not surprising Katherine Hancock, 29, likes to stay in shape. She does this by limiting carbs, eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and going to the gym five days a week.

But when she’s out with her old uni friends, her resolve crumbles. She finds herself ordering things she wouldn’t normally eat, from creamy pastas to wine, cocktails and rich desserts. “I can’t watch my friends eat it and not have any,” she says.

“When we get together we seem to give each other a ‘leave pass’ to eat the things we’ve been desperately trying to avoid,” she explains. She says she would feel “rude” not joining in, but also feels “food envy” when watching her friends eat. “I don’t want to be the only one at the table with a celery stick when they have delicious plates of pasta … It just seems easier to indulge.”

Now new research shows we’re not only more likely to indulge when watching others do so, but simply hearing about other people’s food choices has the same effect. Published in March in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the meta-analysis reviewed 15 studies, and the researchers found that when participants were told others were eating high-kilojoule or larger-sized meals, they were more likely to do so, too.

Conversely, participants consumed less kilojoules when told others were eating low-kilojoule meals. Which led Eric Robinson, lead investigator of the study, to conclude: “Eating behaviours can be transmitted socially.”

Sydney-based psychologist Victoria Kasunic says this occurs because we’re programmed to match each other. Not just when it comes to eating, but also our gestures, postures and language: “We tend to mimic without even realising it.” She says this mimicking behaviour helps us connect with others and gives a sense of belonging.

While we’re all “social creatures” who like to belong, Kasunic says women are “more socialised to fit in”. Which means women are even more inclined to act like the person they’re spending time with. “So when we’re with someone and they’re saying, ‘Let’s have dessert,’ we’re very cued in socially to go, ‘Oh, okay then.’ It’s much harder for us to say no.”

Your weight can also be affected by your friends, according to a study published in theNew England Journal of Medicine in 2007. The study analysed more than 12,000 people over a period of 32 years and found a person’s chance of becoming obese increased by a massive 57 per cent if one of their friends became obese.

Kasunic says this occurs because we judge ourselves against our peer group. So if you’re surrounded by overweight friends, that’s then considered the norm. “[People] don’t want to stand out from their friends or be seen as different,” Kasunic notes. Furthermore, if your friends are overweight, you’ll also be less motivated to lose weight, as doing so can lead you to “feeling on the outer”.

The good news, however, is that while your friends’ size can influence you negatively, it can have a positive effect. “It also works in reverse,” notes Kasunic. So if your friends are starting to slim down, you’re more likely to want to join them. Plus, she says, exercising with a friend or choosing to eat healthier food together makes you more likely to stay on track.

So if you embrace healthier food choices, one day your friends – and their waistlines – may thank you for it.

 

Eating with friends: smart tips

– When eating out, choose a restaurant you know has healthy choices.

– Look up the menu online before you leave and decide what you’ll order before arriving.

– Have a healthy snack before eating out so you’re not ravenous – and vulnerable to poor food choices when you arrive.

– Order your food first, so you don’t get tempted to change your mind when you hear what others are having.

– Invite friends over for meals so you’re in control of the food on offer.

- Daily Life

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Halloween Costumes for 2014

Halloween is a widely celebrated holiday in America as every year, millions of people across the nation obsess over what costume to wear. 2014 will be no different as a great many new franchises and pop culture icons give inspiration to costume suppliers and individuals who create their own costumes alike.

In the past, Disney characters have been a very popular trend amongst Halloween costumes, as the famous princes, princesses and villains of Disney never seem to not be relevant. This year, in particular, Disney characters are destined to be filling the streets on Halloween night as the multi-billion dollar company has released two box office mega-hits since last Halloween. Last winter’s Frozen and the summer blockbuster, Maleficent are two titles that will, undoubtably, be heavily featured for Halloween 2014. Maleficent debuted at the box office with an impressive $170.6 million and Frozen has officially been named as the highest-grossing animated film of all time. With two immensely successful films released within a year, there will be twice the amount of Disney this Halloween.

Halloween stores, as well as individual costume creators, are notorious as of late for creating adult “sexy” versions of popular costume characters. There has been debate on the degrading factor of the recently released “sexy” Frozen costumes. Lingerie and costume company Yandy has announced their new line of adult costumes for 2014.

The lineup includes two versions of Elsa the Snow Queen, one resembling the original film’s sparkly blue gown, the other sporting a higher cut in the dress, revealing the legs, and a lower cut on the chest. The line also includes a sensual version of Anna with a similar color palette as the cartoon, but with a much shorter dress and short purple cape. Perhaps the most bizarre “sexy” adaptation is that of Olaf the snowman for adult women. The model photo for this costume features simply a white unitard with coal buttons printed on it, white forearm sleeves with prints of twig arms and a carrot nose to strap around one’s head.

Another debatable costume that has been announced is that of the woman who made viral news for allegedly implanting a third breast on herself. Yes, a full-on costume of this woman has been made and reinvented by popular costume sites like halloweencostumes.com. The costume features an attachable torso with three breasts and a three-breasted bikini top. The costume is being marketed as an outfit available for women and men.

The 2014 Halloween does not all have to be sexualized, though. There are already ideas circuiting the internet that will reflect more events and people of 2014 on Halloween night. A few of these suggestions include tributes to the late and great comedians, Robin Williams and Joan Rivers, a human recreation of the iPhone 6, the tall hat of Pharrell Williams or even striking a resemblance to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Individuals have also taken to creating their own simple, yet cleverly humorous costumes such as taking hundreds of grey-colored samples from Home Depot and going out as “50 Shades of Grey”.

Whatever costumes one decides to wear for Halloween 2014, there will most definitely be some difficulty in choosing from the immense amount of options this year. Though it may seem early to be thinking about Halloween, the season will creep up before one even knows it.

By Cody Collier

Sources:
Huffington Post
SFGate
New York Magazine

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